Sponsor Spotlight: Marguerite Casey Foundation
April 8, 2025
SAL is thrilled to partner with the Marguerite Casey Foundation for our Encore Series event with Hanif Abdurraqib on April 9th.
Learn more about their inspiring work below!
Building a Better Future: Podcast Episodes to Inspire Action
The fight for justice is relentless, but so are we. Across the country, organizers, advocates, and game-changers are proving that a better world isn’t just possible—it’s in the making.
From guaranteed income programs that lift up marginalized communities to philanthropy that centers the people it’s meant to serve, these movements are rewriting the rules.
And lucky for us, some brilliant minds are breaking it all down in four must-listen podcast episodes. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, strategy, or just a reminder that good things ARE happening, these conversations deliver.
1. The South’s Blueprint for Resistance
(America Dissected with Abdul El-Sayed)
Authoritarianism thrives on division, fear, and distraction—but organizations like the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) are fighting back with solidarity, strategy, and determination.
In this powerful episode, TIRRC’s executive director Lisa Sherman breaks down how communities are uniting to demand dignity, humane immigration policies, and a government that actually serves its people.
If you need a roadmap for resistance (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), this is it. 🎧 Tune in here and get ready to take notes
2. Philanthropy in Right Relationship with Organizing
(Block and Build, Convergence Magazine)
Let’s be real: philanthropy has a lot to answer for. Too often, funding is transactional, restrictive, and—frankly—extractive. But what if it didn’t have to be?
Dr. Carmen Rojas (President & CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation) sits down with Cayden Mack to unpack how philanthropy can (and must) shift from charity to solidarity.
This isn’t just about writing checks—it’s about trusting movements, redistributing power, and building relationships that actually transform communities. 🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: How can more organizations move beyond transactions to true transformation?
3. A Groundbreaking Guaranteed Income Program
(Good Things from Lemonada Media)
In Chicago, a groundbreaking guaranteed income program is changing lives—and proving that when people have financial stability, entire communities thrive.
Richard Wallace, founder of Equity and Transformation (EAT), shares how this initiative—built on a reparations framework—is reducing recidivism, increasing employment, and fostering real economic freedom.
The best part? It’s a model other cities can (and should) replicate. 🎧 Listen here and prepare to be convinced: cash is justice.
4. Who Does Philanthropy’s Money Really Belong To?
Spoiler alert: It’s not the donors.
In another must-hear conversation, Dr. Carmen Rojas joins Glen Galaich to dismantle one of philanthropy’s biggest myths—that money is given rather than taken from communities in the first place.
This episode is a masterclass in reimagining philanthropy as a tool for democracy, not control. As Rojas puts it: “We only see one side of the story, which is the giving of money but not the getting of money.”
🎧 Break the fake rules here and rethink who holds the power.
The Takeaway? Change Is Happening—Join In.
These episodes aren’t just conversations—they’re calls to action. Whether it’s supporting guaranteed income, showing up for organizers like TIRRC, or demanding philanthropy to finally serve the people it’s meant to, we all have a role to play.
So hit play, get inspired, and then—get moving. The future isn’t waiting.
(P.S. Which episode resonated most? Share your favorite on social media—and let folks know how you’re putting these ideas into practice.)